Denver and the West

Tolling likely part of any revamp of I-70 in Colorado's mountains

A pace car leads traffic during the Rolling Speed Harmonization Testing on I-70 between Silverthorne and the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnel in August 2011. (Craig F. Walker, Denver Post file)

A $3.5 billion plan that calls for toll lanes between C-470 and resort towns along Colorado's Interstate 70 corridor is not perfect, at least in the eyes of state highway managers.

Still, just about everyone with a stake in unclogging weekend traffic spilling over the high mountain passes on I-70 believes tolling eventually will be as common as chain laws on the highway.

"I do think it's a new reality in Colorado now," said Summit County Commissioner Dan Gibbs, who is also chairman of the I-70 Coalition board of directors.

"Years ago when we wanted to make meaningful changes on I-70, a lot of us thought we'd get help through large federal appropriations," Gibbs said. "But now that has become less of a reality, and the state is now looking to local communities to partner with and come up with solutions."

And tolling, he said, is among the most agreed upon solutions.

It's also part of the I-70 solution being offered by Parsons Corp., an engineering firm with experience in the U.S. and Canada that is considered the front-runner to retool the highway.

Parsons is also accustomed to dealing with public-private partnerships, which in this case would be with the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The initial phase of the "Parsons Plan" calls for building a reversible express tollway, two or three lanes wide, stretching about 53 miles between C-470 and Silverthorne. General purpose lanes on I-70 also would be reconstructed.

To minimize right-of-way costs, the express lanes would be constructed in existing medians.

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The express lanes would be adjusted to reflect fluctuations in the traffic flow, Gibbs said. "Eastbound from Summit County to Denver will cost X amount of money on a Sunday, while on Tuesday afternoon it could be a lot less."

Parsons also says it will add bores at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel and at the Twin Tunnels at Idaho Springs.

Both the express lanes and new tunnel bores would be tolled to finance the improvements as well as a Bus Rapid Transit — or BRT — system between C-470 and Vail.

The Parsons Plan shows buses traveling in the express lanes and in mixed traffic in existing general purpose lanes between Silverthorne and Vail.

Parsons officials told Eagle County officials last week it will deliver the revamped interstate by about 2021, at least 15 to 20 years sooner than CDOT projected.

The company estimates that the 50-year gross toll revenues will be $8.6 billion, with a surplus cash flow of $502 million after costs and debt service.

Gibbs says the tolling plan is feasible. It also is patterned on the plan deployed to speed improvements to U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder, again with CDOT and a private firm partnering.

"It's being looked at in both urban and resort regions," Gibbs said. "It's just the new reality."

Eagle County Commissioner Jill Ryan says the Parsons Plan needs more study. But dealing with the traffic snarls on I-70 is a top priority among those on the corridor.

"I think it's important to know that CDOT and mountain communities take the congestion issues seriously and are working together to make travel to the mountains more convenient, in both the short and long term," she said.

CDOT still has questions about the Parsons Plan, including tolling for the tunnels, spokeswoman Amy Ford said.

CDOT will soon launch another study, this time assessing the economic feasibility of the Parsons Plan.

But the tolling proposal will likely be part of any solution for fixing I-70 in the mountains.

"These new partnerships are a reality, and we have to deal with that," Ford said.

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